All of us photographers have something in common, and that’s passion. A passion to create. A passion for photography that pushes us to get up early in the morning and trudge through the dark and cold when everyone else is still sleeping in their warm beds. A passion that fuels our need for travel and adventure!
And at some point you’ve probably thought “What if I could get paid for my photography?” That would be the dream, right? Getting paid to do what you love! Turning your passion into a source of income. Having clients pay you to take photos while you’re traveling the world and going on adventures. I mean, you’ve seen other photographers on Instagram somehow making it work. But is it something that you could do? How would you even get started? How do you get people to see your work, let alone start paying you for it?
It would be really nice if you put your photos up on a website or Instagram and right away clients and brands started banging down your door to get a hold of you…but typically that’s not the case. So what are some realistic options that can help get you started?
Below I’ll go through four really effective ways that you can start finding clients. Keep in mind that this is just scratching the surface, but it should give you a really good launching point to jumpstart your business.
1. Use Your Network – Sniper Approach
First things first, everyone has a network of connections—family, friends, coworkers, classmates, etc. The first thing I’d recommend doing is sitting down and thinking about any acquaintances you have that might be connected to the outdoor/adventure/travel industry. Put some good thought into it and make a list. Think about friends, or friends of friends that you might want to reach out to. And then maybe go through your email or LinkedIn contacts to see if anyone else stands out.
In general these kinds of specific, targeted connections are the best to reach out to because you have some sort of relationship with them. Or you have a relationship with someone that can get you in touch with them. Let me give you a personal example.
When I first started my travel photography/filmmaking business I reached out to a handful of well-known photographers, filmmakers, and social media influencers to collaborate on content. With some of them I got no response at all, and that’s not very surprising—because I had no personal relationship or connection to them. People in general are usually super busy, and they don’t have time to respond to every email or DM from random strangers.
So what’s the key to getting people to respond? You either have to have some sort of personal connection to them, or you have to have a really compelling message or opportunity.
In my case I saw success by reaching out to friends and former coworkers that could get me in touch with the people that I was looking to contact. For example, I reached out to one of my friends that I had worked with a lot in the past. He had a friend from school that was now a big YouTuber and had a large following on social media. I asked him to write an introduction email to his friend (and I had him copy me on it so I could be in touch and follow up). We had a good enough relationship that he was happy to do me that favor, and after emailing back and forth I ended up scheduling a shoot with the person as a result.
Don’t be afraid to reach out to your friends or acquaintances to find potential clients! Most people are happy to help (within reason), you just have to put yourself out there a little bit and make it happen.
2. Use Your Network – Shotgun Approach
Make sure you let people know the kind of work that you do. Whenever you talk to a family member, friend or new acquaintance make sure to bring up your photography work. Not in an awkward, pushy, or uncomfortable way. But just try to bring it up naturally as part of your conversation. For example, when they ask how you’re doing answer something like “Pretty good. I’ve actually been putting a lot of time into my photography business lately.” And as they ask you about your business, describe what you do and mention that you’re on the lookout for new clients. You’ll be surprised at how many opportunities present themselves by you just letting the world know that you’re a photographer and what kind of work you do.
Then to take it a step further, do the same thing with your email and social media connections. Send out a nicely worded email or social media post telling people that you’ve started an outdoor/adventure photography business and are looking to take on new clients. Then say if they happen to know anyone in the outdoor or travel industries that you can get in touch with you would really appreciate it.
And yes, you’ll have to put yourself out there a little bit in order to do this…and it may be uncomfortable at first. But if you want to jumpstart your business you may have to get a bit outside your comfort zone to make it happen!
3. Attend Networking Events
If you’re looking for a networking event to attend in your area, the first thing that might come to mind is a photo meetup or something like that. And while I think photo meetups are great for meeting other photographers and being part of the community, it’s probably not the best place to find work and potential clients. Think about it. You’re going to an event with a whole bunch of other photographers that are looking for work the same as you are. And while it may be worthwhile to attend if there are brand representatives to meet and talk to, my point is that you should look for clients where there’s not as much competition. It may take some effort and creative thinking at first, but it will pay off in the long run.
For example, think about where your target clients hang out. If your target clients are outdoor brands, are there outdoor industry events that you could attend? For example Outdoor Retailer, ATTA conferences, or even local events. I did a quick search for “outdoor brand events utah” (I live in Utah) and found an expo called Adventure+Gear Fest that a lot of local brands attend. Or if your target clients are travel companies / tourism boards you could look into TBEX or Adventure Travel World Summit. I also did a quick search for “utah tourism event” and found the Utah Tourism Conference that features tourism board representatives from across the state all in one place. Sounds like a good event to find some prospective clients.
Moral of the story, put some good thought into creative ways to find and contact your ideal clients. While it may be easier to reach out to clients the same way everyone else does, it will be much more effective for you and your business if you find a way that’s different than your competition.
4. Cold Call (or Email)
Now let’s say you’ve gone ahead and done all of the above. You’ve planted a lot of seeds, and it looks like some of them might turn into opportunities eventually. But in the meantime you want to keep cranking. Good for you—keep that momentum going. Here’s what you can do next.
Research and find local brands and companies that you could work with. Do some searching on Google and some looking around on Instagram to start putting a list together. For example, I did a quick search for “outdoor company list Utah” on Google and found a list of companies on the Utah Governor’s Office website. I also did some quick looking on Instagram and found some giveaway posts from local companies that led me to a bunch more local outdoor companies.
Once you’ve made a list of companies (the more the better) that you’d like to work with, you’ll need to track down a contact at each company to reach out to. Best case scenario you end up tracking down a specific email for the marketing/creative director or social media manager so that you can email them directly (even better if you find a phone number as well). But worst case scenario you have to use their Contact Page form, generic email, or Instagram DM/email to contact them.
Once you’ve found a contact email for each of your companies, start reaching out to them! In the email tell them who you are, why you’d like to work with them, what value you can offer, and pitch them on your services. (Need help writing your contact/pitch emails? Download these FREE email scripts.)
Just keep in mind that cold emailing people is a numbers game. So don’t get discouraged if you don’t get responses right away! Most people won’t respond unless you give them a really compelling reason, so the more people/companies you reach out to the better your chances of hearing back. And don’t be afraid to follow up if you don’t get a response on your first try…or your second or your third. Persistence can sometimes be even more important than talent or a good portfolio. Of course don’t become annoying and start nagging people, but in the nicest way possible keep reaching out over time to keep them updated on your work and remind them that you still want to work with them.
Conclusion
Now you should have more than enough ideas to not only get your first paid outdoor/adventure photography client, but hopefully to get many more referrals and additional clients as well.
If you want to learn more about finding clients and making money with photography, sign up for our Find Amazing Newsletter. We go much deeper into the topics listed in this article, and we provide downloads, content, and tools to help you make more money with your photography business. We have a free course on Finding Photography Clients coming out soon, so sign up for the newsletter to be the first to find out when it’s released!
